Halo: The Pegasus Vendetta
by tento125
Summary: With the Covenant war over, the UEG has turned towards exploration and colonization again. The Pegasus Initiative was launched to start humanity's first ever out of galaxy colony. What the colonists find there however, is nothing they could ever imagine.
1. The Pegasus Initiative

The Pegasus Initiative

 _To promote rebuilding efforts after the Covenant War, the United Earth Government authorized the exploration, and colonization of the dwarf galaxy_ Pegasus _, one of Andromeda's companion galaxy in the Milky Way local group. Participants of the initiative were solely volunteers, as such an endeavour would result in a one-way trip, with no prospect of returning home. Nevertheless, 50 thousand men and women from various backgrounds and origins have made the choice to volunteer themselves as humanity's first generation of inter-galactic explorers._

 _Technology gained from reverse engineering Covenant and Forerunner slip-space drives has enabled new generations of Shaw-Fujikawa drives increased ranges, decreasing travel time within the multi-dimensional reality known commonly as slip space. Thus, despite being almost 3 million years away from the Milky-Way galaxy, it has been theorized that it would take merely a few decades, not centuries, for one-way travel between the Milky-Way and Pegasus._

 _It is hoped that the prospect of venturing out to the unknown and starting anew would bring about much needed morale among the populace, reigniting the desire to spread humanity among the stars and experiencing new worlds, to boldly go where no man has gone before. Despite public reception upon announcing the Pegasus Initiative (will be referred as "the expedition" from here on out) being lower than expected, the UEG managed to fill up the desired amount of 50 thousand colonists to jump start a new colony. Among the colonists contain highly skilled teams of diplomats, geologists, astronomers, scientists and engineers, all willing to aid the colonists in their efforts._

 _Additionally, it was deemed imperative that a sizable military presence should be allotted to the colonists in order to safeguard them from any hostile threats that may befall the expedition. Thus, the UNSC has agreed to supply the expedition with its military protection. Military assets provided by the UNSC includes 1 Autumn class heavy cruiser, 6 Strident class heavy frigates, 2 Halberd class destroyers, 1 Phoenix class carrier, and 1 mobile refit/repair station as well as 7000 marines and sailors, all of whom volunteered to take part in the expedition. In addition, the Office of Naval Intelligence has provided the expedition with 2 Prowlers for use for reconnaissance and intelligence gathering should the need arise._

 _2 Phoenix class colony ships and 5 cargo freighters were also provided to the expedition as non-military vessels. Both Phoenix class colony ships will transport the colonists to the Pegasus galaxy as well as serve as building materials to help jump start new colonies. The cargo freighters will serve as transport ships for preliminary industrial equipment, crop seeds, and livestock, as well as to haul cargo if necessary upon arrival._

 _In total, the Pegasus Initiative contains 13 warships, 7 civilian ships, 50 thousand colonists and 7 thousand military personnel. Yet, it is important to note that despite the large amount of firepower at the disposal of the expedition, its main purpose is to explore and colonize the Pegasus Galaxy and to establish friendly contacts with any local political entity if possible. Thus, the leaders of the expedition had to be ones that have a friendly and diplomatic nature but also not afraid to utilize military force if it is the last option available. Hence, Governor Julian Olken and Rear Admiral Jingles Mcjingleberry were chosen as overall and military leaders for the expedition respectively due to their calm and calculating natures._

 _The Initiative was first proposed in the year 2554, just a year after the conclusion of the Covenant war. It was repeatedly rejected by the UEG due to post-war rebuilding being considered a higher-priority than an expedition to a faraway galaxy. The UEG finally gave the Initiative the go-ahead in the year 2556, yet it took over a year to gather up all the resources necessary for the high-risk venture. It was only in June 24 2557 when the entirety of the expedition left Earth for the Pegasus Galaxy. Computer simulations show that if all goes well, the expedition should arrive in the outer reaches of the far-flung dwarf galaxy sometime in the year 2580._

Admiral Mcjingleberry chuckled to himself after he had finished reading the published report on the Initiative. Despite being published almost 3 decades ago, it felt like it was just last year that he had read it when it first came out.

 _Ah well, guess that's what cryo does to your body,_ he thought to himself as he stretched his body.

The computer simulations were _wrong._ The automated AI subroutines were programmed to thaw out essential personnel after 23 years of cryo sleep, which should've been enough time to reach the outer edges of the Pegasus galaxy. When the some-what young Rear Admiral realized after he was thawed out and got his personal bearings right, he found out that the expedition was still 5 years away in slip-space from even reaching the Pegasus galaxy.

To make matters worse, after those 5 additional cryo years, it took the expedition another 7 months just to find a suitable planet to terraform. Even with the UNSC's extensive and advance terraforming technology, it was only advanced enough to terraform those worlds that needed only a few adjustments to make them suitable for human habitation.

Yet, despite that, they have managed to found a new colony, the first ever human colony outside of the Milky Way galaxy. It took 3 years of terraforming the planet before colonization could began but that was expected. Now, 6 years after the expedition arrived, the colony, now called Nova Status which is Latin for "fresh start", is slowly growing. Agricultural areas have already sprung up for miles around the main city, crops steadily producing yields that are more than enough to feed all of the colonists. The city itself has a small industrial center, mainly producing agricultural equipment but also small amounts of military ammunition as well as everyday household items.

In orbit, Jingles and Governor Olken both agreed that it would be best to modify the mobile repair and refit station to have the ability to build small ships, turning it into a mobile shipyard. Within the same star system, now named "Gatopea", the local asteroid belt has been found to house several useful minerals, mainly Titanium-A and Selenium. Although no off-world mining has commenced yet, Governor Olken made it one of his top priorities to make it possible within 2 years.

"Admiral sir?" a voice behind him snapped the Rear Admiral from his thoughts.

"Yes Lieutenant?"

"The prowlers returned from their long-range reconnaissance that you ordered 2 months ago" he almost completely forgot about giving out those orders. Ever since they arrived and set up shop, Governor Olken had urged that it is vital to know what is around them. It was only fairly recently that the Rear Admiral finally gave in to his demands.

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Jingles replied before standing up from his command chair "I'll go down and debrief the captains myself"

The younger officer simply saluted as the Rear Admiral made his way down to the hanger bay.

 ** _A/N: Hey guys, this is my very first solo fan fiction. So any constructive criticism would be very appreciated. If anyone is waiting on "my" other fanfic: Halo Oddball Tales, then I do apologize. Real life stuff got in the way so I couldn't really translate the role play into fanfic format (read the a/n on oddball tales to understand what the heck do I mean) Anyways, hope you guys enjoy this and I'll see you guys hopefully soon. Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!_**


	2. The Surroundings

Rear Admiral Mcjingles walked slowly across the meager hanger bay on board the expedition's flagship: the Autumn class heavy cruiser UNSC _Zeng_ _He_. Although he is somewhat annoyed with the fact that the heavy cruiser doesn't have large enough hanger bays to house multiple fighter squadrons like the older cruisers that he had served aboard during the years of the Covenant war, it did have various upgrades to its weapon systems plus: _it has shields._ Something that he hoped would balance out the lack of fighter craft.

Crew members busily worked all around the Rear Admiral, helping to organize supplies needed to the steadily growing colony on the surface, only stopping to give the senior officer the custom salute before returning to their work at hand. Pelican and Darter dropships would land and lift off from the hanger deck periodically to offload and load supplies and personnel. Sounds of mechanics doing routine maintenance on the various crafts and machinery filled the Rear Admiral's ear.

Jingles allowed himself to show a small smile as he walked towards a certain Pelican. Despite being almost 3 million light-years away from Earth, the atmosphere was full of life and purpose, nothing different from what he was used to back during the war. _Though to be honest_ he thought to himself as he neared his destination, _right now we don't have to worry about extinction_.

"Greetings gentlemen!" he announced himself to the unexpecting group of ONI personnel. "Am I right to assume you didn't find any trouble? "

"You are correct sir" said a man whose facial features and voice accent resembled those who had Italian ancestry. Jingles immediately recognized him as the overall ONI commander of the expedition: Captain Mike Cenzo. "My apologies for not coming up to the bridge to report our findings"

Jingles waved his hand in dismissal at the Captain's comment before replying "No need for such formalities Captain. We're among friends. Now, tell me about what you've found" he continued suddenly, changing the subject to a bit more formal.

The Captain hesitated for a brief moment before replying "I suggest we give you a full report somewhere more private sir".

Jingles nodded in understanding before he motioned for the Captain to follow him. He led him to one of many meeting rooms located near the hanger bay and sat down at the table.

Cenzo followed suit and produced a brown envelope with a huge red stamp marked "TOP SECRET" along with a small computer chip before sliding both of them over to Jingles.

"In there you will find a full written report on all of our findings during our assignment" he said, voice full of professionalism while Jingles was flipping through the pages in the envelope. "Full sensory data is also included in the chip that I gave you"

"Thank you Captain, but can you give me a quick rundown of your findings? "

"Of course sir, " the ONI spook replied before producing a personal tacpad. The pad soon revealed a holo representation of the surrounding area within the Pegasus Galaxy that the expedition is in. "Mostly nothing much other than empty star systems with potential mineral resources, mainly molybdenum and iron." the Captain continued on "These two worlds can harbour human life with a little terraforming. My estimate about 7 months time" he said with the 2 systems in question being highlighted in the holo.

"So we're alone out here? " the Rear Admiral asked.

The ONI Captain hesitated before replying "Sir that may not be the case. Four days ago, we detected anomalous energy signatures on the surface of a planet." the Captain highlighted the planet in question before continuing. "The thing is sir, the readings were instantaneous, they were there on our sensors one second, then went away the next. They were so fast that our sensors couldn't get an accurate fix on their point of origin. And here's the catch sir: the planet can naturally support life."

At that statement, Jingles mentally froze. A planet that can naturally support human life is extremely rare to find. Only a dozen worlds in existence that he knows have the exact correct chemistry to house human friendly environments. Evidently however, Cenzo wasn't finished.

"I took the liberty of authorizing for a ground recon team to scout out the area we calculated to be the source of the anomaly was detected. What they found was a ruins of sorts, my guess it's a village of some kind, centered around a large metallic ring."

"You think this ring is the source of your anomaly Captain?" Jingles finally finding his voice to speak up.

The Captain simply shrugged before replying "I'm no expert sir, but there is a chance, but I'm not sure. To quote a member of the ground recon team sir, it looks like an object of worship more than anything else. But I'm not really an expert in such fields sir."

"Duly noted Captain, anything else you want to add? " Jingles asked, wanting to cut the meeting short so he can make a relay the information to Governor Olken.

"One more thing sir, we received a transmission from Earth."

"A WHAT? " Jingles suddenly jolted upright, not believing what he had just heard.

"A transmission sir. It was pure luck that one of the prowlers picked it up while it was scanning a system."

"What did it say? "

"Just a simple congratulations on reaching Pegasus and a memo saying that an expedition from our Sword of Sanghelios allies are going to join us. Force composition is a single CAS Carrier, 3 CCS battlecruisers and 2 CPV Corvettes."

"When and why? "

"Two years from now sir, and as for the why... "

"Spill it out Captain" Jingles interjected, though something tells me that he's not going to like the answer.

"Somehow, and I stress _somehow,_ a minor prophet escaped the great schism and gathered up a sizable force of Brutes. Numbers are sketchy, but about half a dozen ships. Classes unknown. Apparently he figured that the Pegasus Galaxy is a good place to lay low."

Hearing that, Jingles wanted to scream in frustration. He thought that he, and all other members of the expedition, would be cut free from the Covenant for good.

"Any ETA to when the prophet will arrive?"

The ONI Captain simply stared at him, dread in his eyes before replying.

"Sir, he left the Milky-Way way back in 2553. Big chances are he's already here."

Hearing that, Jingles actually screamed.

 ** _A/N: Hey guys, sooner than expected update! Don't expect a lot of quick updates like this one, but if there's more, expect them to be short 1-2 thousand word chapters like this one. Longer chapters may or may not follow. I don't know, ask my brain. Anyways, just as a heads up, I will be happy to answer any questions regarding anything about the story (that I have shown so far) but I will refrain from answering anything pertaining to future plot events. And all you stargate fans can calm down, the Atlantis Expedition will make some screen time, just not yet. Anyways, longer than normal author note but eh, deal with it. Anyways, see y'all next time! ADIOS AMIGOS! (I probably butchered that)_**


	3. First steps

"There's a WHAT!?" governor Olken blurted out after he heard the new intelligence gathered by ONI, voice full of shock and disbelief. An emergency meeting had been called in by Admiral Jingles to have all senior staff of the Initiative discuss the current situation that they found themselves in.

"A prophet sir " replied Jingles, "He's out here somewhere. "

"Any idea where he is and strength?" the governor asked as he rubbed his temples.

"No idea sir, we just began recon operations in the surrounding sectors" captain Cenzo replied "He is at least 5 years ahead of us, so he could have a considerable force built up already, but there is no way to be sure sir."

"Options?"

"Not very much sir," Jingles replied "We don't have enough resources to scour every single star system, nor the time to build up orbital defenses over Nova Status"

"Don't tell me what we can't do Admiral" the governor retorted, "Tell us what we can do."

Jingles sighed before he responded "We could speed up the refit project on the orbital repair station and have it churn out small automated satellites, then strategically place them in the surrounding space. We can program them to send out an automatic message when they detect ships."

"How long would that take?"

"Depending on the coverage area you want sir" Jingles replied "If you want us to only cover the surrounding space? 6 months give or take. If you want us to place them in every strategic star system in the galaxy, that could take up decades."

The governor groaned before asking "What about our current military assets? Can we realistically fight the prophet?"

"Governor, we only have 11 ships rated for combat." a new voice piqued up, this being that of the minister of housing and urban development Mark Sorelson. "There is no way in hell we can go out there and expect us to win a small war against the prophet's fleet, not until we truly know what we're up against"

"Besides sir, there's no telling whats out there," captain Cenzo butted in "We have absolutely no idea who or what is around our borders"

"Lets just focus on what we know so far" Jingles interrupted, having an inkling that the captain would go on and on and wouldn't stop. "Sir, with your permission I would like to start on those automated warning stations" Jingles said, having his attention drawn to the governor.

"Granted Admiral" he replied before everyone else started to take their leave "Keep me posted on any updates."

Jingles simply nodded his head in acknowledgement before heading out of the conference room, the others following suit, leaving Olken behind to dwell on his thoughts alone.

* * *

"MOVE MOVE MOVE!" the voice of young Lieutenant Samuel Baker sounded over the sounds of explosions and gun fire as he grabbed a nearby marine's armor and dragging him to the relative safety of cover behind a rock. It had only been a few hours after the Lieutenant and 2 of his squads stepped out from the stealth Owls to do some ground recon after the ONI spooks had detected the same anomaly on the ground. What they had found when they reached the source however, was at least a few dozen of unidentified humanoid aliens wandering around a ruined village. As soon as one of his men broke formation and tried to make friendly contact, he was shot upon. Now? the UNSC marines were playing a deadly game of hide-and-seek-and-kill with the aliens, buying time for the Owls to return from orbit.

"COVER FIRE!" he yelled as he pulled out his BR55 Service Rifle and poured lead down sights, trying to suppress the very obviously hostile aliens from advancing any further. Out of the corner of his eye however, he saw a squad of at least 6 of the strange aliens advancing from his left flank while another group of 5 was advancing from the right. If he and his men don't pull back now, there was the very real risk of getting surrounded.

"ALL SQUADS PULL BACK PULL BACK!" he yelled into his radio before he was forced back under cover from the alien's strange weapons.

"You ok marine?" he asked the young marine private that he saved earlier as he fired a few more bursts, managing to strike down 2 of the strange aliens before forced back under cover again.

"Ye...yes sir" the young man managed to stammer out, clearly this was his first time under fire.

"Lieutenant!" a voice sounded out over the sound of constant weapons fire from the tree line behind the rock Sam and the other marine were hiding behind, "We're ready for you, we'll provide cover fire"

"Copy that Sergeant on my mark!" he shouted out before turning his attention to the man shaking in fear besides him, "Private, when I say mark, I need you to run like hell to the Sergeant"

"N...no sir" the private managed to stammer out "I...can't...do it"

"Yes you fucking can private!" Sam yelled at the poor man's face "If you don't, you will die here!"

"I'm already fucking dead el-tee! We all are! What difference does it make if we survive now, only to die later on a few seconds later?" the private yelled back, obviously shocked and on the brink of a mental breakdown.

"Just get your ass over to the Sergeant and that is a DIRECT ORDER!" Same replied, anger and frustration in his voice before leaning around to take a few pot shots at the enemy "NOW MOVE! MARK!"

As soon as Sam said that, he grabbed the man by the collar and stood him up before pushing him in the direction where the Sergeant is taking cover. The man stumbled and fell down but since he is now in the open, the only chance of safety lays with the cover that the Sergeant has acquired. Satisfied that the young private is safely behind cover, the Lieutenant reloaded his rifle, counted to 5 and broke cover.

The few seconds that took the Lieutenant to move from his rock to the tree line felt like an eternity to him as he was forced to run in a zigzag pattern in order to avoid getting shot at by the at least dozen alien weapons. Blue bolts of energy whizzed by, inches away from hitting his body. The Sergeant kept true at his word and constantly poured lead down range, forcing the majority of the aliens to keep in cover, even managing to kill a few of them.

As soon as Samuel reached the safety of his men, he immediately radioed in EVAC as well as organizing what remained of his forces for an organized retreat. With 6 left out of his original 9 men, he split them up into 2 teams of 3's, backward leapfrogging their way through the forest. 1 team would retreat to another cover while the other would provide cover, process repeats.

8 minutes of constant backward leapfrogging left the "squad" low on ammunition, but at least it seemed that the enemy had given up their pursuit. The team then made their way towards a small clearing, where they await extraction. Suddenly, a load shriek in the air can be heard. On cue, all members of the UNSC team looked upwards to the source of the sound. Sam's face paled at realization.

"ENEMY FIGHTER GET DOWN!" he yelled as realized that a small, triangular, purple craft was heading towards them, nose down. Streaks of what looked like blue plasma struck the ground near where the team took cover, dust and debris flying as a result of the impact. It also took out 2 more of Sam's team.

The craft then broke off for another return pass. Wanting to use the brief time of respite to his team's (what's left of it) advantage, he ordered them to prepare to move to another position. Before they could accomplish that however, another squad of aliens showed up and opened fire on their position, effectively pinning them in one location.

By now, Samuel had long ran out of ammunition for his battle rifle so he was now forced to used his M6D Magnum, not exactly your ideal weapon for use in pitch firefights like the Lieutenant found himself into.

"GRENADE OUT!" he heard someone yell as a fragmentation grenade soared through the air and landed in the midst of the alien soldiers. The hostiles didn't get a chance to take cover before it went off, killing at least half of them, and scattering the rest.

"Alright MOVE OUT EVERYONE GO GO GO!" Sam yelled at the top of his lungs as he leaped out of cover and emptied his entire magazine from his magnum, providing cover fire for the rest of his men to fall back.

As one, the remaining 4 marines leaped out from their cover and made a run for it even further into the forest, the aliens in hot pursuit.

" _Hector 1 to Panther 1"_ Samuel called into his radio, " _Rendezvous point alpha compromised, say again, rendezvous point alpha has been compromised. Heading to rendezvous point charlie over"_ he finished before he drew out his magnum and shot at his pursuers.

" _Copy that Hector 1, we'll meet with you there._ " the radio replied as Samuel heard another grenade go off. " _Get there within two minutes. Skies are full of bogeys, don't know how long we can stay undetected over"_

" _Roger that, Hector 1 out._ " Sam then closed the channel before turning his attention to what is rest of his team, who had now had to pause in their tracks to take out some of the enemies that had gotten a little too close.

"Graham, Pearson on point" he barked "Daniel you got our six. We make to RV point Charlie. Two minute window!"

"Yes sir!" came the replies as each member gathered what they could and headed out. It didn't take long for the team to reestablish contact with the hostile aliens however as the team made their way to the extraction point. By now, the ammunition for their rifles have long run out so all the surviving team members had picked up their fallen enemy's weapons for now, a necessity in these circumstances as well as it would give the scientists back on Nova Status a rare chance to examine the alien weaponry.

Exactly 2 minutes later, the team have made it to the extraction point where _Panther-1_ was supposed to pick them up.

"Sir where are they?" inquired a private.

"They'll be here private" replied Sam, eyes darting across the horizon to try and spot their ride.

As soon as he said that, he heard the familiar sound of an Owl on approach. The owl was based on the more well-known Pelican drop ship design, albeit being smaller and reconfigured for stealth mission, perfect for ONI missions like the one Sam and his team found themselves in.

The Owl dropped down a few dozen meters in front of them in the open and opened its rear hatch, ready to take on Sam and his team.

"Sir, me and Pearson will cover you while you make it to the owl" Sergeant Graham offered, to which Sam nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Daniel you're with me" he ordered, "Once we get to the owl, we'll cover Graham and Pearson."

Daniel didn't say anything but he nodded his head in understanding, which was good enough for Sam. Once satisfied that everyone is ready, Sam and Daniel made a run for the awaiting bird. They then stopped short of the back ramp to provide cover fire to Graham and Pearson if needed.

As soon as they saw that the Lieutenant and Daniel were safely at the owl, the remaining 2 marines then made their own run across the open field towards the plane. However, just as they cleared the tree line, the now familiar screech in the air can be heard.

 _Oh shit._ Sam thought to himself as the remaining marines had now stopped everything they were doing and looked towards the sky to search for the enemy fighter. It didn't take long to see the familiar triangular shaped purple craft.

"RUNNNNN!" Sam yelled to the 2 stunned marines, who were caught dead smack in the middle of the field. The lieutenant's shout managed to snap the remaining 2 marines into action, chucking their acquired weapons away to shed unnecessary weight so that they can run faster.

But the hostile craft was faster, and a split second later, a beam of distorted light protruded from the craft's underside and went over the 2 marines. Sam couldn't believe his eyes, one second they were there, the other they weren't.

Sam stood there stunned for a solid fifteen seconds before he was dragged onto the owl and forcibly strapped into one of the seats. His mind still not believing what he has seen.

Soon later, he felt the craft make its smooth and slow ascend into the atmosphere, the pilot relying on the ship's stealth to avoid being detected from the countless hostile fighters that litter the atmosphere. Luckily the stealth held up and the small craft now docked to an ONI prowler before it made its jump into slipspace, leaving behind the alien infested star system.


	4. Revelation

"Just relax, Lieutenant" Samuel Baker heard a feminine voice tell him as a cup of water was given to him. "We just want to know what happened down there"

"Uhhh, yes ma'am" he said before taking a sip from the cup, it's contents helped him to calm his mind down a bit.

"Now, tell us what happened, start from the top"

Sam took a big breathe before continuing, "At fifteen hundred hours, me and my team dismounted from the owl as per the plan, before it took off into the sky again"

"So the pilot abandoned you and your team? " the woman asked.

"What? No no no ma'am, it was all according the opplan. The owl would drop us off at the pre-designated landing zone alpha, before taking off again to avoid detection. "

"I see... " the woman responded, clearly satisfied. "Keep going Lieutenant."

Sam just nodded to the figure sitting straight across from him before continuing, "Well, as I said, we disembarked from the owl, then we headed off to the source of the anomaly that Lieutenant Commander Ashton managed to pick up."

"How far was the source away from your team's location? "

"At the time?" he paused, mind deep in thought, "around a mile and a half or so."

"Why didn't the pilot landed you closer to the source? "

"Because he couldn't ma'am" Sam replied, he was slowly getting irritated by the woman's constant pointless questions. "An owl requires a large clearing in order to land safely, much like a Pelican or any other aircraft does. The source's origin offers little of that as it is almost covered completely with natural fauna."

"Please continue Lieutenant"

Sam just nodded into the darkness before continuing. "We then proceeded to our objective, no contact along the way, though, we did have to dive out of the way from what looked like a small rihnoceros running at full speed twords us. Poor thing looked scared to death."

Taking the silence as his cue to continue talking, he obliged. "After that my team continued to our destination, we found what we think was what left of a rural village. Debris and bodies - _human_ bodies - littered the floor. All the while, there seems to be a squad or so of unidentified humanoids patrolling the carnage, my guess is to survey the scene"

"Surveying for what?" the voice interjected again.

"To be frank ma'am, I have no clue. Might be investigating the ruins, might be searching for survivors, I don't know" seeing that the woman didn't reply, he took it as a sign for him to keep talking. "In any case, it didn't matter, as soon as one of my men emerged from the forest to initiate friendly first contact protocols, he was instantly shot"

"At once, we began spraying the area with suppression fire, downing many of the unknown contacts. However, before we could retrieve our man, more of the contacts showed up, forcing us to retreat."

"I have no idea how many we faced, at least an entire platoon, may be even a company, that came after us. We dodged and weaved enemy fire, but there was just too many. Within minutes, I already lost 3 of my men.""

"So you didn't try to retrieve your men?"

Sam shook his head, dread in his face as he looked back after what happened. "No ma'am, there wasn't enough time. It was either stay there and everyone gets slaughtered or we cut our losses and save ourselves and report back to command."

"I see" the woman said before continuing "Thank you for your input Lieutenant Baker. I'll see to it that you're cleared for 4 weeks of shore leave. Dismissed."

Sam just simply stood up and left the room, leaving a young ONI Lieutenant Marissa Collins to her thoughts.

* * *

"We need options people" Governor Olken said to the assembly of his most trusted advisors. "This incident marks the most significant discovery this expedition has made so far" he said before pausing to give a dramatic effect, "contact with an advanced society"

"Sir, need I remind you that it was hostile contact?" Mark Sorelson spoke up. Despite being the minister of housing and urban development, he was a former UNSC marine Captain back in the days of the Human-Covenant war where he was assigned with the 120th Marine Expeditionary Unit, as well as currently forming a JROTC division on Nova Status. Thus, the governor trusts him with any military matters. "I would advise extreme caution next time we meet these guys"

"I disagree minister" came the voice of the fairly young minister of foreign affairs, whose department has been rendered completely useless ever since the expedition arrived. "This would be a perfect opportunity to start relations with a different political entity."

"Are you idiotic?" came the voice of the minister of defense, whose service during the Covenant war and the consequent break up of their union was far from minuscule. "Anyone else here thinks that this first contact mirrors of our first contact scenario with the Covenant back in '25?" he asked rhetorically.

Jingles raised his hand in agreement, getting glares of bafflement came from every eye in the room, causing him to slowly pull down his hand and resumed his silent position.

"Anyways..." Olken started, trying to get everyone out of the awkward moment the Admiral caused earlier, "options on dealing with these people?"

"We should re initiate contact with them sir. Its not everyday that we find other extraterrestrial space faring society."

"As stated before governor, we may be dealing with another Harvest here sir" the minister of defense spoke up, before turning his attention to his younger counterpart "Need I remind you want happened after Harvest?"

"I do know well minister" he said, glaring into the eyes of the other "What I'm suggesting is that this encounter may be a cultural misunderstanding."

"Forgive me minister, but how does _shoot on sight_ be considered a cultural misunderstanding? Clearly it was their intent to kill us on the spot."

"You have to remember that we are dealing with an entirely different race here" the young man said calmly, although it is obvious that his face is slowly turning to a shade of bright red, "Our man may have simply unknowingly did something that the aliens found insulting and it may be in their culture to respond with full force." He then turned his attention to the governor, "I strongly recommend that we reevaluate the composition of our off-world teams to include a fully qualified diplomat and negotiator."

Now that raised eyebrows across the room, especially that of the minister of defense "Are you saying that my teams are ill-equipped with handling these situations?"

"As a matter of fact minister, yes I do. In fact, I would like to put forth a motion that all off-world operations be handled by the ministry of foreign affairs instead of the ministry of defense to prevent any future unintentional misunderstandings with the local population here."

"Governor, I strongly advise you to veto the motion" the older minister of defense said "These teams are our first line of defense against hostile forces"

"All the more reason to let the foreign affairs ministry to handle it. After all, a pen is more powerful than a gun"

As this was going on, Jingles had stood up and walked out of the conference room, letting the politicians duke it out to see who has the biggest mouth. It is one of many reasons why Jingles didn't want to hold a government office, way too much politics involved.

"You got tired as well?" a voice suddenly snapped the Rear Admiral from his thoughts. "The constant bickering sometimes gets to me to" the voice finished, a slight chuckle soon followed.

"Minister Sorelson!" Jingles exclaimed as the former marine captain approached him. "I didn't see you come out"

"Oh?" Sorelson replied, sounding surprised. "That is to be expected, I came out the second the two began tearing each other apart" he said, jerking his thumb towards the general direction of the conference room. "And please, call me Mark"

"Uhhh...sure thing Mark" Jingles said somewhat uncomfortably. He isn't used to calling government officials by their first name.

"Mind if I join you Admiral?" Mark asked

"No problem sir" Jingles swiftly replied. "Feel free to do so"

Mark nodded before moving in to stand next to the younger Admiral. "So what do you think about the whole situation Admiral?"

Jingles thought long and hard before answering, "To be completely honest sir, I think its a waste of time" he said with a matter of faculty. "We're sitting here debating on who should be in charge of overall recon operations while in reality we should be debating on defensive measures in case of additional hostilities"

Mark nodded in agreement. "That's politics for you Admiral, idiots bickering around to see who has the largest mouth to gain the most power."

Jingles chuckled at the response. He had to admit that it seems that all of the politicians these days do just that, save for one...

"What made you go into politics minister? I mean Mark"

This time, it was the minister's turn to think hard before making a response. "Probably because of my desire to help others" he said with a sigh. "Back on Earth, after the whole Covenant fiasco thing, I ran a reconstruction effort in my home city of Seattle Washington. During my time there, everything was a mess. No one knew what to do, people were running around like clueless chickens" he paused the story to give himself a little chuckle," Supplies were being messed up as logistics was in shambles."

This piqued the Admiral's curiosity, "How so?"

"Just an example, I once ordered some raw materials to rebuild a cafe down on main street. Nothing special, just some wood and nails and your basic building materials. Now, some _idiot_ probably saw that the order was for a cafe, so instead of the sending me the building materials I requested, they sent me 240 pounds of coffee and some 120 pounds of cake. Not what we needed, but at least we had one of our best coffee breaks"

Jingles mentally facepalmed at that statement. _Who the hell was in charge of supply distribution?_ he thought to himself.

The older minister however, was not yet done with his stories "Two years later, when my organization growed by a few thousand, we decided to work on bigger projects, such as repairing the train station. During the battle for Earth, the station got hit pretty hard by Covenant banshees, rendering it completely useless. I decided to rebuild it to get some more commerce going in the city."

"As you may have guessed, the station was in a complete mess; tracks were blown up, electrical lines were down, the platform had craters all over them, hulks of burnt out locomotives littered the place, and don't even get me started on the structural integrity of the main terminal."

"It was that bad?"

"Pretty much yeah," Mark replied before continuing, "Anyways, we were about done with rewiring the electrical circuits in the main junction control room when we all heard a darter drop ship on approach. At first, I thought it was the first shipment of my request of 5 kilometers worth of railway lines that I made a week prior. Granted, I didn't know if it was enough or not but I made a guess at 5 clicks, I can always order more or send back the surplus later. Then the drop ship landed at the car park and unloaded, and I swear I wasn't hallucinating, hundreds, if not thousand of teddy bears."

Jingles nearly chocked at that "Teddy bears?"

"Yup, apparently, the pilot mistook us for a children orphanage center that had been overwhelmed with orphaned children. We had a heated argument for about 2 hours to finally make him realize that he arrived at the wrong coordinates."

Jingles shook his head in dismay as Mark continued. "The entire system was broken. I had to do something, before I get anything else more weird. And since the local elections were coming up, I decided to put my name down as a candidate for city mayor."

Jingles raised an eyebrow "Did you win?"

"Nope, I lost to a woman who was a lot younger than me, just barely. It was a close race, she only had, I think its 5 points, ahead of me."

"So why didn't you stick around and try for the next election?" Jingles asked.

"Because she was a damn good mayor" Mark replied. "She did everything that I wanted to do, save for increasing my pension" he said with a chuckle. "She completely overhauled the supply distribution system by dissolving the committee at the time and starting anew. **THAT** , worked like a charm. So I just figured that the city was in good hands."

"So why did you come here?" the admiral asked.

"Because I wanted to continue helping people." he briskly replied. "I already passed my 60th birthday when I decided to join up with the initiative. I figured that the expedition needed someone with a lot of experience like me to help keep things along. Yes, usually they would prefer someone who would be younger, which is why we have a bunch of idiots as cabinet members" he said jerking his thumb towards the conference room, whose sound has been increasing steadily, indicating a very _very_ heated debate. "But they say that my experience, both during the war and my efforts in rebuilding Seattle would be invaluable to the expedition. So I graciously accepted their request to be the minister of Housing and Urban Development."

"What about your family?"

Mark paused for a bit before replying. "That question was almost the one thing that talked me out of joining this initiative. I have 3 kids, all grown up mind you, and one of them even started a family of her own. One of them became an ONI operative, don't ask why. Another became a police officer, while my only daughter became a nurse and she already started a family." Jingles just waited patiently for Mark as he was deep in thought, "I miss them alright, but out here? I can actually do some good with my skills, not just sitting around like an old man waiting for my time to go with my family worrying about me all the time. Although, to be fair, I wouldn't be surprised if one of my kids managed to smuggle aboard just to join me" he finished with a chuckle.

"So how do you cope with all the political shenanigans?"

Mark just waved his hand in dismissal at that. "Usually we cabinet members stay away from each other, at least for me anyways. We hardly come into contact, let alone conflict with each other except for the monthly cabinet meetings. Now those are nightmares."

Jingles can only sympathize with the man. He only wanted to improve the lives of all the members of the Initiative, but he had to go through the entanglement that is the nature of politics. _Life is never fair_.

Before any of them can continue their chat however, a young man in a naval officer uniform came rushing through to them, panting as he stopped in front of the Admiral.

"One...moment..." he managed to sputter out as spent a few seconds recollecting himself after what had seemed to be a very long run. _Obviously he's in a hurry_.

"Sirs," the man said, having finally gathered his wits and strength to stand up straight and salute the 2 men. "I have an urgent message to deliver to the council immediately."

"The council is in session Lieutenant" Mark said, and as if to emphasize his point, a loud crashing sound can be heard from the conference room. "...if you want to call it that..."

"Both of us are council members Lieutenant" Jingles said before wincing at the sound of loud shouting and more things crashing. _Someone really has to go in there and calm them down_. "The information can be shared with us and we will forward it to the rest of the council as appropriate."

The Lieutenant raised an eyebrow, Jingles just assumed it had more to do with whatever's happening in the conference room than their request. "Very well sir, here's the gist of it"

He then produced a tactical pad before continuing, "In there is a full report of our preliminary analysis of the alien weapons that Lieutenant Samuel Baker and his team managed to retrieve during their ill-fated mission."

Jingles was impressed. He didn't expect the scientists that the initiative brought along would be able to crack the alien's weaponry so quickly. "What about them?"

"Sirs, they're non-lethal"

"WHAT?" both Jingles and Mark exclaimed at the same exact time.

"Yes sirs, Doctor Amelia Veronica, our lead scientist if you recall, said that the weapons projectiles emit a small emp burst upon impact. Basically they impede the brain neurons from effectively coordinate the body movement, causing the victims to be paralyzed."

"So are you saying, that the men we lost out there, can be alive right now?" Jingles asked.

"Most likely sir, yes"

"My question is why would anyone want to design a weapon that doesn't kill?" Mark questioned. "It doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe their physiology allows the weapons to be lethal against them" Jingles offered. "They could be like us humans before the invention of the Shaw-Fujikawa drive: fractured and always at each other's throats. They may never encountered a species that has a natural defense against their weapons"

Mark and the Lieutenant nodded their heads in agreement with Jingles' assessment. Jingles then turned his attention to the younger officer. "Thank you Lieutenant, we'll make sure the council gets the info. You're dismissed"

The Lieutenant gave a crisp salute before turning and walk away. As soon as the Lieutenant was out of sight, Jingles reached down to his radio and broadcasted a message on a secure frequency. " _Security team to main conference hall ASAP_ "

"Why do we need security?" Mark asked just before the sound of glass breaking can be heard from the conference room. "Oh... "

"Yeah, I'm not willing to be collateral damage here. Feel free to go in if you want sir, but I'm not"

"Thanks Admiral, but I'll pass"

"Wise choice sir... very wise choice"

 ** _Author's Note: DONT KILL ME DONT KILL ME DONT KILL ME PLEASE. Also don't kill me. Real life got in the way but I hope that this longer chapter was worth the wait guys. Thanks for all the support that you guys have given me thus far and I'm hoping that I will receive your continued support until this project is done. Anyways, reviews and constructive criticism is welcome. See ya guys whenever I post another chapter. See y'all then._**


	5. Enemies galore

Sergeant Benedict Graham groaned as he groggily stood up. His entire body was aching for reasons he couldn't remember. One moment he was making a run towards the awaiting owl, and the next, well he just managed to wake up here. He also distinctively remembered that he had his armor on, but that was absent.

"You ok sarge?" he heard a voice call out.

Benedict instinctively turned around to the source of the voice, he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Nathan?" he exclaimed, not thinking that he would see the younger Corporal again. "How are you still alive? We all saw you get shot by those...things"

"Believe me Sergeant when I say I have no idea what happened myself" he said raising his hands in the 'surrender' gesture. "One moment I was out there going to initiate first contact protocols as instructed. Next I got shot, felt like I got electrocuted, and the next thing I knew I was in here" he finished motioning towards the cell that they were in.

"How long was I out for?" Benedict asked, rubbing his temple in an attempt to clear his mind.

"Don't know my self" Nathan replied. "But at least 15 minutes"

"What makes you think that?"

"Because that's when they brought you in with the rest" Nathan said, gesturing to the other "prisoners" who are still unconscious.

Benedict just nodded in acknowledgement before he took this time to study their environment. Unsurprisingly, they were in a cell of some sorts. Surprisingly, the interior looks organic in nature. Benedict doesn't know any species he has read about that utilizes such technology.

The cell "bars", for a lack of better term, is actually a webbing of some sorts. Benedict tried to push through, but the webbing didn't even budge.

 _So much for that idea._ He thought to himself amusingly. _Of course they would be too strong otherwise the stuff wont be used to keep prisoners in their cells in the first place._

"HELLOOOOOOOOOOOO?" he yelled out to the halls of the alien cell block, hoping to get the warden's attention, assuming these aliens have one in the first place. "IS ANYONE HOOOOOMMMEEEE?"

"Sarge what are you doing?" the younger Corporal piqued up.

"Trying to get an audience" Benedict replied while trying his best to angle around to see his surroundings outside of their cell better.

"Can I ask why?"

"To figure out what the fuck command got us in"

"We're in a cell Sarge" Nathan quipped, gesturing to their current situation, "I'm pretty sure that's a good sign that says _we're fucked_ "

"Very funny Corporal" Benedict snapped before chuckling to himself. Despite their situation he was glad that the younger marine still has his humor intact. Seeing no response to his call, he promptly sat down beside his men and waited.

He didn't have to wait long. Minutes later a single alien holding what looked like a cross between a rifle and a staff walked up to the cell and just stood there. Benedict stood up and slowly made his way to the "bars".

"Hello?" he began, searching the alien's face for any facial features but the entire face is completely covered by what looked like their version of a combat helmet made from some sort of bone. _How does anyone see out of that?_ he asked himself mentally. "I want to talk to the person in charge." he said, flapping his arms around randomly trying his best to convey his request.

The alien simply cocked its head to one side before promptly turning around and walking away, leaving a confused Benedict to contemplate their situation.

"Well that went well" Nathan commented.

"Hey! No backseat drivers" Benedict retorted

"What? Someone has to lighten up the mood here" he replied chuckling.

Before the two can continue their chat however, the alien returned, this time returning with 3 more of his buddies along with what Benedict assumed to be an officer of some kind, judging from the air of authority it had. What surprised benedict the most is that the alien officer looked very much like a human, save for the green skin and the 2 small "holes" it has on its cheeks.

The cell "bars", without warning, suddenly opened and the 5 aliens stepped inside.

"The queen wants to meet you" the officer hissed in Benedict's direction.

For once, Nathan just kept silent as Benedict looked towards him for some sign of support. All he could see was surprise and worry.

"Don't worry," Benedict said, trying to sound confident though in his mind he is down right terrified, and he doesn't know why. "I'll be back before you know it." He then turned his attention to the alien squad. "Right, let us not keep her majesty waiting then"

The officer just smirked in a devilish way before turning around and walking out of the cell. The rest of the squad then parted sideways, indicating that they want the UNSC marine to follow their commander. Benedict reluctantly followed.

A few minutes of walking down completely alien corridors, Benedict found himself to be in a large empty chamber. The entire room had almost no lighting at all, yet, he can still see very clearly. The room also gave off an erie kind of feel, making Benedict, a seasoned combat veteran way back in the covenant war, very uncomfortable and full of fear.

He didn't have to wait long for the "queen" to approach him and his guards. To his surprise, the queen has somewhat of a female human's appearance, though her skin was more greyish in color and have the 2 holes on the side of her cheeks.

"Leave us" she hissed to her men, to which they promptly obeyed and left the Sergeant to deal with the queen alone.

"You are not a lantean" she said, now turning her attention to Benedict. He was about to utter a reply but found himself unable to speak.

"Kneel!" she commanded, and to his utter shock, his body complied, without his consent.

"Your mind is weak." she continued, starting to circle around the Sergeant. "The human conscience is so..." she paused as she ran her finger up the marine's neck, sending shudders through his spine "...fragile"

"Wha...what do you want?" Benedict asked. He now found it extremely hard to do anything with his body now and it took all of his effort just to utter that simple question.

"Everything" she replied, still continuing to run her finger along the Sergeant's body. "I will get answers from you soon enough. One way or another" she cooed. "Where do you come from?"

"Earth..." was all Benedict could muster

"Hmmmm...yet you are not from Atlantis"

 _Atlantis? the fabled lost city?_ "I don't know what you're talking about"

"You lie poorly human" she said now standing straight in front of him, eyes directly staring down at him.

"Look at ME!" she commanded, to which Benedict unwilling complied and raised his head, his eyes directly staring into the alien's yellow eyes. What confidence was left in the Sergeant quickly evaporated. His mind now racing in fear trying to figure out ways to get out of this place.

"Your defiance is admirable, but I shall soon get what I seek" she said, slowly bringing her face inches away from his own "and I always get what I seek"

"You better start trying then" he replied, trying his best to sound confident.

Upon hearing that, she retreated her face from his own as if to contemplate something before continuing to speak. "It is a shame. I was planning to spare your life for my own uses. Yet, I shall grant your request nonetheless. Who are you?!"

This time, his body quaked in fear as he now realized the gravity of the situation he was in. So he did what he was trained to do "Sergeant Benedict Graham UNSC Marine 483675645-BG"

"WHERE DO YOU COME FROM?"

"Sergeant Benedict Graham UNSC Marine 483675645-BG"

"WHO DO YOU SERVE?" voice slowly rising in anger

"Sergeant Benedict Graham UNSC Marine 483675645-BG"

Suddenly, the queen screeched, sending the marine into a state of shock. The queen then grabbed him by her left hand before cocking her right hand back and jamming it into his chest. Benedict screamed in horror and agony as his life force is slowly drained from his body.

* * *

Commander Michelle Carlos watched the data stream coming across her tactical pad. "Status report on Alpha 1."

Sounds of keyboard tapping can be heard through the various consoles of the UNSC prowler _Cloak and Dagger_ as crew members worked their consoles to operate the ship's powerful scanners.

"Ship is holding steady orbit ma'am, no sign of change"

"Uhh ma'am?" one of the deck officers called out, "Sergeant Graham's neural chip just indicated that he died ma'am"

 _Shit this just escalated,_ Michelle thought to herself. All UNSC personnel are given a neural interface chip that can transmit data about their vital signs and comes with a locator beacon in the event that the body could not be found. Having a UNSC marine die in captivity of the aliens would create diplomatic difficulties later if they ever come into negotiation rounds.

"So that leaves us with what? 4 of our guys still on board?"

"Yes ma'am" came the response. "They are all located in the same general vicinity. I presume they're in a holding cell of some kind."

"It does look like it" she replied before musing over her next move. "Send out some clarion drones to the other side of the planet. Lets get some multiple view points on the ships."

No verbal response followed but the bridge crew instantly followed through their orders.

"Clarion drones away ma'am. ETA 3 minutes"

"Thank you Lieutenant. Notify me when they get into position". Again, no verbal response but Michelle knows that her crew would follow her orders no matter what the circumstances. They've been working together for years now, and they have formed a tight bond that simple body gestures are enough to convey messages to one another.

Michelle then focused her attention to the alien fleet. The ships looked like nothing she had ever encountered. The 3 big ones in the center each measure out to 5 kilometers, just short of the UNSC Infinity, the biggest ship in the entire UNSC arsenal, at least before the expedition left the Milky Way anyways. These massive ships are designated as Alpha's 1,2 and 3 respectively. Each of the massive ships also seem to have 4-5 smaller capital ships as escorts, each ship being measured at 2500 meters long and 1500 meters wide, grossly out sizing any ship the expedition brought with them with the only exception being the Phoenix class carrier which it measured at being 3500 meters long. Michelle just hoped that the amount of fire power the UNSC has to offer is enough to keep these aliens at bay.

"Do we have those full sensor sweeps on their weapons yet?" she asked

"Negative Commander, our sensors are being partially jammed. Still trying to find a way around it ma'am."

"Acknowledged Lieutenant notify me when you have a solution." The Lieutenant simply saluted and returned to work at his station.

"Drones are in position Commander" a voice called out. "Receiving live feed now ma'am"

"Good work Lieutenant, send it to my pad"

The Lieutenant just nodded in acknowledgement before tapping away at his console. Moments later a ring tone sounded from Michelle's pad, indicating something just came up. Quickly she went over and took a look. Sure enough, it was the live feed from all 5 clarion spy drones that she had ordered sent out. She then decided to take a closer look at the ships. The bigger flagships were identical to one another. All along the flanks of each, she noticed several "holes" several meters wide. She assumed that these were either weapon ports or leading towards hanger bays. The smaller capital ships also have the same feature, albeit having much less "holes".

"Ma'am," a Lieutenant called out to her "Preliminary scan reports are in"

"Good job Lieutenant, send it to my pad. Also keep an eye out for those fighters" she said gesturing to the dozens of triangular fighter craft that the aliens have.

A few seconds later a messaged beeped on Michelle's tacpad and she instantly read over the reports. The scanners are having a hard time identifying the exact type of weaponry that the aliens employed, but Michelle had an inkling that they used some form of plasma. What really surprised her was that the hulls of each ship are constructed out of some sort of organic, self healing material. Now _that_ is something worth looking into.

"Commander, picking up an anomaly. Looks like a slipspace rupture but not quite." shouted another Lieutenant.

"If its a slilpspace rupture then something must be coming out" she mused.

Sure enough, another fleet of the alien ships showed up, bringing up a further 3 of their flagships and 16 of their smaller escorts. In total, the aliens now have 6 of their big capital ships and 28 of their smaller ones. _Something's not right_ she thought to herself. This is slowly looking to be a staging ground for an offensive to somewhere. _The question is, who though?_

"Commander!" the same Lieutenant yelled out, this time in clear alarm. "I'm detecting multiple slipspace ruptures! For real this time!"

"What?" she exclaimed. She hadn't even told the council about this new staging area, not to mention knowing that the council had authorized a first strike against these beings. A dawn of realization hit Michelle in the head _Oh, shit._

As the portals formed, 14 purple bulbous ships emerged from the relativistic dimensions of slipspace. Michelle can identify each individual ship class just by looking at them, same can be said for all UNSC personnel.

"Ma'am, 1 CAS carrier, 8 CCS battle cruisers and 5 SDV corvettes" the Lieutenant read out the tactical read outs on his console.

 _So the snake finally revealed itself_ she thought to herself. The intelligence was correct; the covenant is in Pegasus, and they are extremely well equipped for war.

Seraph and Banshee space fighters immediately swarmed out of the covenant ships in the hundreds and instantly overwhelmed the alien's fighter crafts that they had previously been deployed. Their speed and maneoverbility catching the alien pilots completely off guard as their craft got turned into bright red specks in space one at a time.

However, the aliens weren't simply idling by and let their own fighters be destroyed, for they to launched their own compliment of fighters. Michelle was in for a surprise. Literally thousands upon thousands of fighter crafts streamed from the massive alien ships' hangers and mingled with their covenant counterparts. The dogfight surrounding the ships had come to a proverbial stand still; the covenant's shielding technology on their star fighters made it extremely hard for the aliens to destroy, yet the alien fighters vastly outnumber the covenant's, using their superior number to great effect with 3 or more fighters ganging up on a single covenant fighter, the latter taking several hits before succumbing to overwhelming firepower and ended up as a fireball.

Yet, the dogfight seemed to be unimportant compared to the overall fleet action. The covenant ships, as Michelle observed, orientated themselves to present the full underside of their ships and fired their energy projectors at the enemy ships, completely destroying anything in its path, leaving behind half cut alien ships in their wake. Combined fire from the 5 SDV corvettes also managed to destroy 3 more of the aliens' smaller escort capital ships. The aliens aren't completely without teeth however as focused fire from 1 untouched flagship managed to force a CCS class to fall back behind the other Covanent ships and also completely destroying 1 of the SPV corvettes.

Soon, the balance tipped into the alien's favor as one of the CCS's shields faltered from combined weapons fire from an alien carrier and 3 of its escorts, before itself being destroyed, along with 2 more corvettes while 2 more battlecruisers were forced to retreat behind friendly lines to recharge their shields.

The Covenant fleet angled their ships again and unleashed another volley of energy projectors, catching one of the alien's carriers and completely bisecting it along with several other escort ships. Yet, the aliens pushed on, undeterred from the losses, destroying another battlecruiser and what remained of the corvettes. By now, the aliens have the covenant fleet trapped between their forces and the planet's atmosphere.

4 alien escort ships broke off from the main fleet and attempted to flank around the covenant's line. The covenant's fleet commander must have seen this and diverted 2 of his remaining battlecruisers to intercept. In this, they were successful, firing their plasma torpedoes and destroying 3 of them before the other retreated under heavy fire to the protection of friendly forces. However, the covenant ships captains were over zealous in their pursuit and they managed to find themselves separated from the remaining friendly forces. All good that did though, was exposing the flanks of said battlecruisers to the full might of the alien weapons.

2 alien flagships lurched forward, overpassing their own battleline and fired all their weapons on the exposed covenant ships. Blue plasma impacted the entire length of the ships and the shields flickered once, and then died out. Not even a second later, bolts of plasma then impacted the hulls, explosions can be seen through the entire length of the ship's, before the 2 ships were engulfed in fireballs.

Michelle can only watch the battle enfold in awe at the alien's military capabilities. Here, despite being caught completely by surprise, the aliens had recovered from the initial shock and turned the tide in their favor, managing to beat back a sizable force of covenant ships that would've completely decimated any human fleet. Michelle also noted the durability of the alien ships' armor. Despite having no shielding to speak of, the armor has been able to hold up well against the Covenant weaponry. It took several plasma torpedoes and plasma cannon shots to completely destroy a single alien ship, a typical UNSC ship can only take one or two. Michelle only hoped that the ships that the expedition brought with them are sufficient enough to take them on if diplomacy fails.

As if to reinforce the Commander's observation, another covenant battlecruiser went up in flames, but not before unleashing one last torpedo salvo at the closest alien warship. Being a merely a dozen kilometers away, the escort ship never had a chance as 14 plasma torpedoes impacted the entire outer hull. The escort then continued to fire off a few more rounds before being destroyed from the torpedo impacts and engulfed in a fireball. Unfazed by the lost of the single ship, the aliens continued to pour fire upon the covenant foes, forcing them to retreat even closer to the planet.

Tasting victory, the alien forces pushed forth with all of their remaining ships. Thousands of fighters took the lead and charged straight at the Covenant ships, hoping to overwhelm the shields and leaving them open for the rest of the fleet. Yet, the aliens vastly underestimated the covanent's point defense abilities as most of them are simply erased from existence as pulse lasers lashed out from the remaining ships, as well as any remaining Covenant fighters.

The Covenant ships then angled their profiles once more and unleashed their plasma projectors. However, instead of destroying most of the alien fleet, the captains of the alien vessels soon moved out the way in time, plasma scorches being the only sign that the heavy fire only grazed their targets. In retaliation, another battlecruiser's shields flickered before dying out completely, and was completely destroyed from combined fire from an escort and one of the bigger flag ships.

The covenant commander, probably realizing that he would lose if this slugging match continued, decided to lurch his entire fleet forward, hoping to use surprise and the covenant's more numerous armaments to his advantage. The ship, even the CAS carrier, lunged forward and exchanged broadsides with the alien ships. Michelle had to admire the covenant's commander ingenuity; by mingling his ships with the enemy's, he's practically preventing the enemy from firing upon his ships, less the aliens want to risk friendly fire. The covenant ships weaved back and forth, exchanging fire from the various ships. The carrier simply waltz forward, as if it didn't give a damn about the amount of fire being poured upon it. One of the battlecruisers managed to go point blank range with one of the alien's escort ships. Bolts of plasma, plasma torpedoes and pulse lasers raced out to fill the void between the ships, while Covenant space banshees and seraph fighters raked the outer hull with precision fire and plasma bombs, obliterating the enemy ship. Another battlecruiser attempted the same tactic, but was caught in a cross fire from 2 escort ships, its shield cannot withstanding the punishment and gave way, bolts of plasma engulfed the doomed Covenant warship before exploding in a fiery inferno. Another battlecruiser had the unfortunate luck of exchanging broadsides with a flagship, its shields couldn't handle the amount of fire the enemy was producing and it quickly went up in flames. The covenant carrier, in the meantime, had maneuvered itself to a position directly above one of the alien's flag ships, its ventral energy projector, also commonly known by UNSC personnel as "glassing cannon", started glowing before unleashing a steady stream of plasma right through the enemy armor, bisecting the opposing ship, while at the same time, traded fire with one of the escort ships, the latter being destroyed through a bombardment of plasma torpedoes and bolts.

What is left of the covenant fleet had managed to pass through the entirety of the alien fleet emerging through the other side. The alien fleet then slowly turned themselves around to point their weapons at the enemy. Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly depending on how you look at it, the vovenant fleet, now only reduced to its single carrier and 2 battlecruisers, spun around and prepared to meet their enemy head on. Michelle eyes widened when she saw this, she didn't understand why the covenant forces didn't retreat into slipspace, they had managed, against all odds, to break free of their trap and now have a guaranteed chance of surviving to fight another day. True, she knows about the covenant's religious fanaticism and their lust for glory, but the covenant fleet commander has shown from time to time again a great grasp at naval warfare, surely he would know that it would be wise to retreat while he can. The Covenant only has 3 ships left, compared to the alien's a dozen or so, including 4 of their powerful flagships. _Something's not right here..._ Michelle thought to herself as the covenant vessels rotated around and fired off their energy projectors, destroying 3 more of the alien's escort ships, before launching their plasma torpedoes as they lurched forward.

Again, the alien's armor showed it's merit, as multiple of their ships got hit by the heated plasma, yet non of them got destroyed. One of the alien escort ships showed signs of damage, slightly listing to one side and slowing down, but other than that, none of the other alien ships slowed down, and fired their own barrage of blue plasma. That's when one of the ONI prowler's sensors suddenly beeped out in protest.

"Uhh ma'am?" sounded the Lieutenant who was manning the console. "Detecting multiple slipspace portals! One of them much larger than most!"

Michelle's mind raced to find answers "Clarification?" but something at the back of her mind told herself something that made her quake in fear.

"Multiple covenant hulls ma'am!" the lieutenant shouted off in alarm "Reading 11 CCS class, 8 SPV class, 4 SDV class... " his voice trailed off as his face suddenly paled.

"What is it Lieutenant?" Michelle asked, although in her mind she already had an answer. For the first time in her entire UNSC career, she was hoping she was wrong.

"A CSO class super carrier ma'am" he finally replied.

Michelle sighed in resignation before sinking her face into her hands. _What the fuck are we supposed to do against that?_

"Get me a live feed from one of the drones" she ordered.

"Drones 1 and 3 are destroyed ma'am." One of the lieutenants replied "Drone 2's the only one operational"

"I'll take it" she said as the crew member tapped away before a live feed from said drone appeared on one of the view screens.

A view of one of the alien's massive flagships dominated the screen, currently firing plasma weapons very rapidly at a target not covered by the drone's cameras.

"Rotate the drone 070 by 015 degrees" Michelle ordered, to which the drone operator swiftly complied. "Oh, and back us up a little"

On the screen, the view slowly moved to follow the alien's weapon fire. It didn't take long to see what they were firing at.

If one had thought the alien's flag ships was huge, then the Covenant's CSO super carrier would be gigantic. As per her training, Michelle had committed most of the covenant ships classes to memory. Measuring at just under 29 _kilometers_ , the giant warship completely dwarfs anything currently present in the battle space. The carrier itself can carry troops in the tens of thousands as well as hundreds of squadrons of space superiority fighters. Just remembering the CSO's capabilities is enough to make the UNSC commander's face pale.

Returning her attention to the battle that the UNSC crew members are watching, there is no doubt in anyone's mind who will emerge victorious. By appearing behind the alien's fleet, the new covenant reinforcements had completely boxed in the alien forces, they were as good as dead.

On cue, all covenant ships primed up their energy projectors and unleashed their fury. The aliens stood no chance as all remaining ships are split in half. Fresh covenant fighters soon poured out in the thousands and wiped out any remaining alien craft. Out gunned, out numbered and out teched, what remained of the alien fighter craft were picked off by the dozens. Some brave pilots attempted to ram the bigger covenant ships, but they failed miserably as they are picked clean out of the sky by the covenant's point defense system. Before long, the majority of the covenant craft returned to their hangers, having running out of targets to shoot down.

Michelle ran through the casualty list on both sides. Despite the alien's formidable combat abilities, something that didn't escaped Michelle's mind, they had managed to destroy 6 CCS class battlecruisers and 5 SDV corvettes for the lost of 6 of their powerful flagships and 28 of their weaker, but still powerful escort ships. Despite the large disparity in the casualty list, she had no illusion that had the covenant not bring in their reinforcements, they would've lost.

"Recall the drone" she said before the viewing screen switched off while she walked back to her command chair.

"Drone in the bay ma'am"

"Set course to Nova Status" she ordered. "Take us through random jumps as per the Cole Protocol"

Nods of acknowledgment followed as all of them remembered the decade old protocol put in place by Admiral Preston Cole back in the early days of the human-covenant war to safe guard humanity. One of the clauses being " _when retreating from the covenant, all UNSC must make random slipspace jumps to avoid detection and tracking from covenant forces._ ". Many military historians agreed that the Cole Protocol is one of many reasons why humanity survived the war in the first place. _Let's hope it works here_ Michelle thought to herself as the UNSC _Cloak and Dagger_ opened up a slipspace portal before disappearing from real space.

 ** _Author's note: *Dodges various projectiles* OKAY OKAY I GET IT I MADE YOU GUYS IMPATIENT FOR AN UPDATE AND I'M TRUELY SORRY. There's been soo many things IRL lately that demanded my attention. I had to go to prom (don't say a word) do track practice, write up articles for my school newsletter, do schoolschool work, all that kind of stuff. Anyways, thanks for keeping up hope and keep me energy for doing this. I'm sorry that this maybe a bit short (characters spectating a space battle is not my thing) but eh, I did my best. Sorry for anyone who grew a liking to Sergeant Graham. He served his purpose._**

 ** _Anyways, gotta do some stuff now, see y'all whenever my brain is up to it. See ya!_**


	6. Chapter 6 (Insert title name here)

Governor Olken sat down at his desk sifting through all of the paperwork that has accumulated over the few months. Reports of new buildings and requests for budget increases are just the tip of the ice-burg that he is required to look through. He also had reports from the different scientists and astronomers that the Initiative brought over that detailed all the latest new discoveries about their surrounding space. Most painstakingly though were the various requests for off-world scientific expeditions to nearby planets. With the threat of the Covenant out there, he would have to ask General Hardin, the minister of defense, to divert assets to provide security, something Olken knew he would not be happy with.

Most intriguing however, was the discovery of an artificial structure buried 5 kilometers deep beneath a mountain not far from where the main colony is. Olken can only imagine what kind of knowledge that the alien structure might grant the colonists. Requests for digging efforts has been piling up on the governors desk ever since a random miner used a resource scanner to scan for resources, but ended up finding the structure instead. However, he had more important matters to attend to.

First of all, there was the threat of the Covenant. He had told his most trusted military advisers to draw up plans in case of possible contact. Now, he had 3 plans laid out for him. One option was to simply evacuate the populace and relocate to a safer place. The other option was to use whatever military resources they had at their disposal and launch an all out campaign against the aliens in the hopes of disabling their capacity to carry out further conflict. The last option, the option that the governor is seriously contemplating over, was to create a series of fortified bunkers and underground networks where civilians can simply "hide" from the covenant. It is a daunting task however as they would need to figure out how to build massive labyrinths and tunnel networks that could hold the majority of the colonists as well as be deep enough to survive any covenant glassing attempts.

Secondly, there was the more immediate threat of a possible upcoming food shortage. Recent reports have shown a rapid increase in the colony's population, an increase that could potentially prove unstable. Estimated figures show that with the current modest agricultural output, the colony would face a food shortage within a few years. Here, agricultural representatives have heavily lobbied the idea of exploiting the planets vast fertile low lands located on the other side of the planet. However, many other experts have argued that the colony simply does not have the necessary logistics to transport large enough quantities of goods over such a vast distance in a timely manner. Sure, they could utilize the cargo vessels that they had brought with them, but they can only hold so much and making regular short hops into space and back into atmosphere is surely going to put much more strain on the engines.

Lastly, the general elections for colony mayor is going to be held in a few months time, and its supposed to be campaigning season for the potential candidates. Olken himself has put his name down as a candidate for re-election but public opinion polls aren't in his favor. Lately, on top of his own list of duties as colony mayor, Olken has followed the election campaigning very closely, and he is being increasingly worried at his prospects of re-election. One strong candidate is a former high school teacher back on Mars and is heavily calling for more educational reforms as well as creating more job opportunities in the industrial sector. Another candidate is the current secretary of defense whose idea of larger militarization of public sectors, though has caused controversy and being labelled as "war-mongering" and "fascist" by some hate-groups, has gained a surprisingly large amount of supporters who viewed it as a necessity to defend the colonists against the many dangers that the galaxy would have to face. Olken himself had tried to present himself to more supportive of more exploration and diplomatic relations with potential new governments that the colony could face, but many are in a disagreement to this policy saying that such an outlook might possibly invite hostile neighbors.

 ** _Knock knock knock_**

The sound of the door snapped the governor out of his thoughts and back to reality. "Come in"

The door opened to reveal a young woman, probably early in her twenties, carrying a data pad and judging from her facial expression, is very _very_ excited.

"Ah, Doctor Sullivan" he started, instantly recognizing the highly decorated anthropologist and archaeologist. "Please come sit."

"Thank you governor" she replied sheepishly before doing as instructed.

"To what pleasures do I owe your visit today?" the governor asked, pushing away the thoughts of his work duties aside for just the moment.

"Its about the human bodies Lieutenant Baker's team found on the planet sir" she said, voice full of professionalism.

"I'm sorry," he replied in disbelief. "Human bodies?"

"Ummm, yes sir. You did read the mission report yes?" she asked back confused.

"Yes, well my version clearly didn't entail that small detail."

"So I see..." she said, not completely convinced. "Anyways, to sum it up, Lieutenant Baker's team had found a village, well what's left of it anyways, and plenty of human bodies."

Olken just blinked at the information. "Humans. In Pegasus."

"Yes"

"How?"

"Don't really know for sure, but I have a theory"

"Let's hear it doctor"

A brief paused followed as the doctor tried to find the best way of explaining her idea. "Do you know anything about the forerunners?" she asked.

"Barely" Olken admitted. "Never did any real research into them, but I heard the name being thrown around a lot"

"Doesn't really surprise me" the woman replied, to the confusion of Olken. "We know very little about them and most of what we do know, their technology, culture, and all that stuff, is being heavily regulated by ONI".

"But aren't you on ONI's payroll?" Olken pointed out.

"Hardly, besides what I do have access to is the bare minimum. Nothing too fancy or anything that would get me that sort of privileges". She cleared her throat before continuing, "Anyways, what we know for sure is that the Forerunners are an ancient and technologically advance race that ruled the Milky way galaxy for millions of years up until roughly 10,000 years ago."

"Is that roughly the same time as the Fermi mass extinction?" the governor inquired.

"The what?"

"The Fermi mass extinction." he repeated, "I know its not an exact scientific term doctor, but I read some articles back on Earth that had linked the Fermi paradox to a galactic wide mass extinction in ancient times. I'm sure there's a specific name for that but Fermi mass extinction kinda stuck."

The doctor simply shrugged her shoulders. "Could be possible, I'll have to look into that. Anyways, after the ' _Fermi mass extinction"_ , her voice making an emphasis on the ad-hoc term, "The Forerunners managed to reseed most of the life in the galaxy."

"And by the galaxy you mean..."

"The Milky Way, yes sir" the doctor finished the governor's unspoken words. "Now, my theory is that the Forerunners had also, for whatever reasons, though I do have some interesting ideas of my own, decided to seed humanity here in the Pegasus galaxy as well. Hence, the human bodies Lieutenant Baker found."

Hearing that, Olken's eyes lit up like a christmas tree. If what the doctor here said was true, then that means that there could potentially be hundreds of human societies waiting to be discovered. In his head, Olken was already drafting up rudimentary trade agreements, laying out first contact protocols, and potentially using all of this to his advantage in the upcoming elections.

"Thank you doctor." Olken addressed the woman after snapping back to reality. "This could potentially change everything."

"My pleasure governor, but I also have another reason for paying you a visit." Now this, perked Olken's curiosity even more.

"Oh?"

She just simply nodded, then it hit him in the head. "Its about that alien structure isn't it"

"Precisely sir." she confirmed, to the annoyance of Olken. "Me and my colleagues would like to request to lead the excavation efforts as well as gain first access as soon as possible."

Olken visibly sighed. "As I've told many times before doctor, with the elections coming up, I do not see the structure as a high priority right now, especially when considering the fact that there're more important things for me to worry about."

"Governor what if we struck a deal? You give me and my colleagues access to that structure, and I will do everything that I can to ensure your re-election."

 _Ok, I'm listening lady_. "Why so much effort on the structure?" he asked, trying to figure out the woman's real motives.

"Sir from what I've told you earlier, the structure could be ancient forerunner, who knows what kind of technological wizardry can be found in there?"

 _Liar._ With that answer, he already knew the doctor's bigger picture. Yes, the procurement of forerunner technology is always a plus, but he has no doubt that as soon as ONI manages to get access to it, they will immediately swoop down and grab everything. Jurisdictions be damned. However, that's not the doctor's goal. Olken knew that doctor Sullivan here has a professional feud with another archaeologist, the both of them always wanting to out do the other and competing for research grants. If Sullivan could prove her theory about the forerunners, using the alien structure as proof, then she will immediately gain more acclaim and her research efforts prioritized. Or at least that's the theory.

"How will you go about getting me the support necessary for winning the election?" he then asked.

She grinned as she answered. "Simple: I have connections. My husband's brother is on the farmers committee and my husband himself heads a worker's union down town. With simple persuasion I can easily get them to support you."

Olken thought long and hard on this one. He knew both the farmers committee and the aforementioned worker union has a lot of political influence over its members and their communities. If Sullivan can deliver what she promised, then that's an additional 3 percent of the voting population on his side.

Olken never had a chance to utter a reply when his office door suddenly burst open and in came Admiral Jingles looking very distressed.

"Sorry for the interruption sir, ma'am" he quickly stammered out. "But we have a situation."

Olken glanced at the admiral and then back to Sullivan. _Why does politics have to be so messy_

"Admiral I'm afraid you'll have to come some time later." he said gesturing to the doctor, "We were in the middle of a..."

"Sir, its the Covenant" the admiral interjected. That simple statement was enough to make the governor's blood run cold. "We found them."

Olken then turned his attention to a very surprised and shocked doctor. The knowledge of the Covenant in Pegasus has been deemed classified at the highest level to avoid panic among the civilian population. "Doctor, I'm afraid we have to continue our discussion another time."

The doctor simply nodded and hurriedly left the room.

"Lock the door" Olken ordered, to which the admiral promptly obeyed. "What are we up against?" his mind now racing to come up with plans and back up plans, while his hands raced across his desk to find the contingency plans.

"Sir," Jingles began to reply, his voice cold. "You're not going to like what I'm going to say...". For the first time in his political career, Olken was truly, truly, scared.

* * *

"Unscheduled off world activation!" Sergeant Chuck shouted out, causing a flurry of activity as security teams rushed into their assigned positions to cover the gate. Blue lights flashed on the gate's perimeter as it establishes a stable wormhole before a coat of blue light covered the interior.

"Who is it?" Weir asked as she hurriedly raced down the steps of the city's control room from her office.

"Reading Shepherd's IDC ma'am"

At this, Weir shared a look of confusion and concern but decided to store the questions for later. "Lower the shield and let him through" she ordered before making her way down to the main floor.

Chuck simply nodded his head in acknowledgment before pressing a few buttons on the ancient console, causing the shield to drop, revealing a water like surface within the ring.

Moments later, Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, Doctor Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmargen and specialist Ronan Dex, as well as 4 completely new faces to even Weir herself, stepped out from the stargate. The group took a few moments to collect themselves, clearly tired from what must have been another encounter with the wraith.

"Assuming everything went well?" Weir asked Sheppard half-jokingly.

"You can say that" he replied as he walked over to greet her.

"What exactly happened? We almost gave Caldwell the go ahead for a rescue mission"

"Well, long story short, we got ambushed by the wraith"

"Again?" Weir exclaimed. "This is like what? The 6th time this month?"

"Sounds about right," he said as the pair walked up the stairs to Weir's personal office. "Only this time, they were successful"

"Took out the entire team?"

Sheppard nodded grimly. "Pretty much, yeah."

By now the pair had already reached Weir's office and she promptly closed the doors while she sat down at her desk to continue listening to the officer.

"We were then taken to a hive ship, surprise surprise, had a little chat with the queen, and then let us go free"

"And by let you go free you mean..."

"We broke ourselves out yeah," he replied with a giant smirk on his face. "Ronan always keeps his knives ready to go."

"I see... and what about our guests here?" Weir asked, gesturing to the 4 unfamiliar faces that the Lieutenant Colonel brought along.

"Them?" Sheppard asked, jerking his head towards the men. "Those are just people we found in the hive"

"And you decided to bring them back here?" Weir exclaimed, clearly in shock of the blatant breach in security protocols.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time" Sheppard replied, trying his best to defend himself.

"I heard that expression before"

Sheppard paused himself for a few seconds before replying "Well...this time is different"

"How so?"

The former air force pilot leaned it and replied softly, barely above a whisper "They say they're from Earth".

 ** _A/N: *sneakily comes in and plops this on the table* Sorry for the long wait guys! Real life has been a pain. More sorry for the short chapter. I really wanted to get this out before some certain people come knocking on my door *glances at the window*. Hope you guys enjoy and please leave a review. I really appreciate all the support you guys are giving me so I thank you all for that and giving me the motivation to keep writing. Oh, and say hello to the Atlantis Expedition! *runs away*_**


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